Portadown deny reports they breached NIFL wage cap rules

Portadown insist they have have not broken Northern Ireland Football League wage cap rules

Portadown have strongly denied reports suggesting that the club breached Irish Premiership wage payment rules.

There were reports that the club could be facing a penalty of automatic relegation from the Premiership or points deductions because of the issue.

This was said to involve a player who had been on an amateur registration.

However, a Portadown statement on Thursday said that they "demonstrated conclusively" to the Irish FA that no such payments had been made.

The Portadown statement referred to "several articles that have appeared in (the) press today regarding player payments".

"Following a request from the Irish FA, confidential records were passed to their offices on Monday of this week, demonstrating conclusively that the player in question did NOT receive any payment whatsoever from the club.

"The player is fully supportive of the club's position."

The statement also hit out at the "apparently passage of confidential information from the IFA to the press".

Previously, there have been allegations that Irish League clubs could be committing breaches by making undisclosed payments to players.

The Northern Ireland Football League is understood to have been investigating whether clubs may have broken wage cap rules.

Portadown's statement comes five days after Ronnie McFall stepped down as manager after 29 years in charge of the club.

McFall quit following the club's Irish Cup quarter-final defeat by Championships side Lurgan Celtic.

The long-serving manager had been under pressure for several months after a season of struggle at Shamrock Park and had been expected to step down at the end of the current campaign.

Portadown made the headlines in the summer of 2008 when their late application for the IFA's new League led to them having to fight their way out of the Championship in the following season.